Vehicle spring



C. B. FULTON VEHICLE SPRING June 13, 1950 Filed Nov. 2, 1945 amzzan INVENTOR.

' Afro/Mfrs.

Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED S 'FAT ES OF F 11 E VEHICLE SPRING Carroll B. Fulton,` SanAmtonic, Tex.

Application November 2, 19451,Sera'lNor 626301 This inventionzrelatestor vehicle springs'designed primarilyf for` use: in vehicles designedv for carrying'varying loads, such as automobiles; trucks, trailers, railroad cars, etc'.

It is a' fact Wellf known thatV if springs are provided to absorby roadshocksv for empty or lightly loaded vehicles, the ysame springs willv become completely andf-l rigidly. closed'r whensube jected toa heavy load. Likewise, if a; heavy spring is providedfor use-with heavyloads, said' spring will .notl have? suflicient: resiliency to f ab; sorb the'A shocks" when the vehicle is` lightly loaded;

It isani objectof thef'present invention to' provide a resilient: load supporting unit'utilizin'g` al new and# novel# arrangement ofk compression springsl which will: operate to absorb not only normalv shocks occurring when the' vehicle is empty or lightly-loaded, butwillalso absorb the shocks of aheavily loaded vehicle;

It isa furtherobjectfto' provide' a. resilient supportingfunitf havingD springs the' resiliency of which are compounded and computed in such a manner that at no tini'efwill any spring become completely closed because orti arzshockfto which it is subjected.4

A still furtherj object is to providefa supporting unit of thisttypefhavinga plurality'of springs one of which will Vservefto absorb normalshocks but,v when the Jvehicleris heavily loaded; and4 the shocks are more severe, the springs willv co operate to absorb these heavier shocksandf thus prevent anyoneof f thespringsfrom completely closing,v

A stillV further object is` tofprovide a spring supporting ori suspension unit, the relatively movable partsotwhich are soguided-as toI prevent excessive frieti'onal' contact' between said members, as-whenfthe-brakesof said vehicle are applied'or the vehicle/is under acceleration or when said VehicleV is rounding curves: or travelling on inclinedsurfaces;

nother object is to-provide a resilient sus,- pension unit which-is-compact in structure, will provide a springactionsuitable forthe heaviest loa-ds and' alsoY remain unaffected byexcessive pressures between-the relativelyV movable members caused by momentum and/or inertia as well as deadloadweight.

A still further objective is to provide a spring supporting or suspension -unit which functions independently from' any additional or other suspensiorrunits provided on the vehicle, the f unction of4 the.' independent-suspension being analogous to.. the:V conventional` individual; springing 7- Claims. (Cl. 267-603 2, system; used: on theft-front Wheels ofv common vehicles.

With-z the fregoing and other,` objects inA viewl wh'cl'rwill'appearastheidescription proceeds, the invention consistsf of: certain novell details of construction' and: combinations: of parts: hereinafter more yfullydescribed-v and pointed'out inv the.. claims; it beingunderstood that'ichanges may be madein the constructionandarrangement ot parts without"departing from' theA spirit of the invention as claimed:

In: the accompanyingdrawing, thepreferredl form of=Y the i inventionrhas been shown.

Inlsaid drawing: j

Figure 1is a'ce-ntral verticalis'ection through a suspension unit" constructed in accordance with the lpresent invention.

Figure 2 is a' section through" a portion there-- of taken substantiallyon thellinelZ--L Figure 1.

Figure 3fisv a view similar to Figure 1 showing a slightly modifiedv form.

Referring tothe guresby characters of reference, I designates a' portion of the chassis or frarneof,` ai vehicle towhichF is fixedly secured, by Welding or otherwise; a depending guideA plate 2 to tlie upper portionv of' whichl isfwelded or otherwise Xedlyjoine-d the upper housing member 3 of the unit.

Thelower endportionof this member is cylindrical and' has been indicated at 4. This cylindrical lower endiis spaced from the guide plate 2,' asatr 5, andi a cylindrical chamber 6 is extended upwa'rdlyinto the member i from the lower end thereof; thisfchamberbeinglclosed.at its upper end as shown. The chamber is concentric with thelower'end 4 of the member-3.

A4 portion oran axllias been illustratedcat 1 and is extended'radially from thelower member 8' of the'unit.. This member. has; a cylindrical chamber; S'extending' downwardly thereinto from ly, thereinalthough free to slide relative thereto.V Oneof.. the' outer walls of the chamber. 9 is flat, for snug sl'i'dingcontactwth the guide plate 2J, thislwall' lbeing provided with side shoulders i i'whichllap the corresponding sides of the plate 2. Thus the lower member 8.V constitutes azslide which. engagesthe guide. plate 2, the. platev con.- stituting. aslidewaytherefonand saidy plate co.- operates4 with this slide to.` resist anyy relative movement-ot the parts which otherwise might occur as whenthe brakes :of saldi vehicle are ap,- plied5, or thevehiclen under acceleration; or

when said vehicle is rounding curves, or traveling on inclined surfaces.

Extending upwardly from the bottom of the chamber 9 is a concentric cylinder I2 which projects a substantial distance into the chamber 6 and is proportioned to receive a shock absorbing piston I3. This piston is joined to the lower end of a rod I4 extending from the closed upper end of the chamber 6 and held fixed relative thereto. Bypass openings I extend through the wall of cylinder I2 close to the bottom ofthe chamber 9 and constitute means for permitting free circulation of oil between chamber 9 and the interior of cylinder I2.

A vent I3' is provided in piston I3 to allow the oil, which is compressed in chamber 9 and cylinder I2, simultaneously, to escape into chamber 6.

An upper coiled spring I6 is located in the chamber 6 and bears constantly at its ends against the upper end of the chamber 6 and the upper end of the cylinder I2 respectively. This spring is designed to carry an unloaded vehicle body or a very light load. Another coiled spring which is much stronger than the spring IE, is positioned in the chamber 9 and extends around the lower portion of cylinder I2. The spring Il is seated on the bottom of chamber S and its upper end is normally spaced from the lower end of the cylinder 4. It will be noted, also, that the distance between the wall I!) of the lower member 8 and the upper end of the space 5 is greater than the distance between the spring Il and the lower end of cylinder 4.

Obviously, under normal conditions where a vehicle body is lightly loaded or has no load at all, the weight will be transferred through the spring i6 to cylinder I 2 and lower member and all light shocks will be absorbed by this spring. This movement of the upper member relative to the lower member is permitted in View of the fact that there is a clearance at 5 between the members. When the vehicle is heavily loaded, however, and the spring I6 cannot carry the load by itself, the resistance of said spring is gradually overcome until the lower end of the upper member, which is the cylindrical portion 4, comes into contact with the stronger spring I'I. This latter spring will then be placed under compression and will act in cooperation with the spring I6 to absorb all shocks resulting from heavier loads.

It is to be understood that the action of the springs in absorbing shocks is at all times supplemented by the piston I 3 working within the shock absorbing cylinder I2.

Where extremely heavy loads are to be carried. the structure of the suspension unit can be modiiied to insure vertical rigidity of the suspension unit while rounding curves or travelling along inclined surfaces. This modied structure has been illustrated in Figure 3. It includes interiitting relatively slidable upper and lower members I8 and I9, the upper member being xedly joined to the frame 23 of the vehicle while the lower member IS has the axle 2l extended therefrom. In this modified structure a bracket 22 is iixedly secured to the guide plate 23 and, in turn, is connected to the top of the upper member I8 by a guide stem 24 which can be tubular as shown. This stem is concentric with the chambers 25 and 26 in the upper and lower members and is surrounded and slidably engaged by an elongated guide sleeve 2'I extending upwardly from the bottom of the chamber 26. Thus, the stem 24 constitutes a rigid slideway vguide cylinder 21 andthence upwardly around the lower portion of the spring 28. It terminates, however, where it is normally spaced from the lower end of the upper member I 8. In this structure, greater loads can be carried and shocks will at all times be properly absorbed. Moreover, greater vertical rigidity of the suspension unit is insured because of the use of longer cooperating slidably engaging portions.

As seen from Fig. 1, the upper member 3 has a shoulder 3|! which will abut against shoulder 3l of the lower member 8 on telescoping of the members due to suddenly occurring heavy road shocks or the like. The normal distance between these shoulders, as seen from Fig. 1,` is less than the total spaces occurring between and at the ends of the convolutions of the respective springs I, il. Accordingly, the upper and lower members will abut or engage each other before the convolutions of either spring can come completely closed. The form of Fig. 3 is lprovided with a similar arrangement, wherein the upper member has a shoulder 32 and the lower member has a, shoulder 33 adapted to engage each other under similar circumstances. It will be understood that in either case, theresiliency of the springs is such, when both springs are brought into action, as to withstand heavy load orV shock conditions without closing of the convolutions. However, sometimes a heavily loaded vehicle moving at high speed strikes a sharp, high obstruction, and it is to prevent the closing of the springs under circumstances such as this, that I provide the abutting shoulder construction illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with the axle and frame of a vehicle structure, of a compound suspension unit interposed therebetween and including upper and lower relatively movable intertting members xedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, a slideway, rigid with the frame, slidably engaged by the lower member, a guide within the lower member, a spring interposed between said guide and the upper member, and a supplemental spring in the lower member and extending around the guide, said lower spring being normally spaced from the upper member and positioned to receive thrust therefrom following a predetermined compression of the first named spring, said members being proportioned for abutting engagement after predetermined relative movement toward each other and before closing of the convolutions of either spring. 2. The combination with the frame and axle of a vehicle structure, of interrltting slidably connected upper and lower members xedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, an upstanding guide in the lower member, a shock absorbing spring interposed between said guide and the upper member, said spring being proportioned to absorb light shocks due to relative movement of the axle and frame, a slideway xedly connected to the frame and slidably engaged by the' lower member, a, heavier spring seated in and bearing downwardly against the lower member,

said heavier spring being normally spaced from the upper member and positioned for contact by the upper member to absorb shocks resulting from relative movement of the axle and frame under heavy loads, and means adapted to stop relative movement of the members toward each other before closing of the convolutions of either spring.

3. The combination with the relatively movi able axle and frame of a vehicle structure, of

spring suspension means interposed therebetween and including upper and lower intertting slidably connected members lxedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, a separate slideway for the lower member carried by, and immovable relative to, the frame, a coiled spring within the lower member and supported in the path of but normally out of contact with the upper member, and a lighter coiled spring within the upper member and exerting a constant thrust against the lower member for absorbing shocks resulting from relative movement of the frame and axle under normal loads, said members being proportioned for abutting engagement after predetermined relative movement toward each other, and before closing of the convolutions of either spring.

4. The combination with the relatively movable frame and axle of a vehicle structure, of a spring suspension interposed therebetween and including upper and lower intertting relatively slidable members fixedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, means rigidly carried by the frame proportioned for slidable intertting engagement with the lower member at a point spaced from the upper member, a cylindrical guide in the lower member, a spring extending therearound and supported by the lower member, said spring being normally spaced from but in the path of the upper member, and a lighter spring interposed between the guide cylinder and the upper member and maintained constantly under compression by the weight of the frame and its load, said members being proportioned to abut against each other after predetermined relative movement toward each other and after engagement of the rst-named spring by the upper member, said members being adapted so to engage each other before closing of the convolutions of either spring.

5. The combination with the frame and axle of a vehicle structure, of a spring suspension unit interposed therebetween and including upper and lower relatively movable intertting members rlxedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, cooperating means on the frame and members for guiding said members during their relative movement, a guide within and upstanding from the bottom of the lower member, a coiled compression spring in the lower member and extending around the guide, saidV compression spring being positioned in the path of but normally out of contact with the upper member, and a lighter compression spring interposed between the guide and the upper portion of the upper member and maintained under constant compression by the weight of the frame, said lower spring being positioned to be compressed by the upper member when the upper spring is subjected to a predetermined degree of compression.

6. The combination with the relatively movable frame and axle of a vehicle structure, of a spring suspension unit interposed therebetween and enclosing upper and lower intertting slidably engaging members xedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, a cylindrical guide in the lower member and fixed thereto, a piston movable with the upper member and within the guide, a coiled compression spring in the lower member and around the guide, said spring being in the path of but normally spaced from the upper member, and a lighter coiled spring interposed between the guide and the upper portion of the upper member, said lighter spring being maintained under constant compression by the weight of the frame, said lower spring being positioned for compression by the upper member when the lighter or upper spring is subjected to more than a predetermined compression.

7. The combination with the frame and axle of a vehicle structure, of a spring suspension interposed therebetween and including upper and lower interiitting relatively slidable members iixedly joined to the frame and axle respectively, intertting means on the members and frame for guiding the members during their relative sliding movement, a guide within the lower member, a bracket fixed to the frame, a guiding element connecting said bracket to the upper member and extending through the guide in the lower member for sliding engagement thereby, a coiled compression spring extending around the guide and within the lower member, said compression spring being in the path of but normally spaced from the upper member, and a lighter compression spring bearing at one end on the guide in the lower member and at its other end against the upper portion of the upper member, said lighter spring being maintained constantly under compression by the weight of the frame.

CARROLL B. FULTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 212,688 HanSell Feb. 25, 1879 1,549,367 Lancia -1 Aug. 11, 1925 1,614,721 Erne Jan. 18, 1927 1,628,749 Samuels May 17, 1927 2,069,791 Wallace Feb. 9, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 328,974 France May 16, 1903 383,481 France Jan. 9, 1908 26,267 France May 8, 1923 102,651 Switzerland Dec. 17, 1923 

